Back to Hogwarts
The Hogwarts Express rattled along the tracks, Sirius sat by the window, watching the countryside blur past. His arm still throbbing from the night before. James had barely let him sit down before launching into a full recap of his Christmas. "It was brilliant. We had a snowball fight with my cousins on Christmas Eve, I hit the dining room window and nearly knocked over her centerpiece, but it was worth it." Remus looked up. "Bet you cheated."
"Obviously," James said proudly. "Dad taught me this little spell to send the snowballs flying without me even moving—"
"That explains a lot," Peter cut in, shaking his head. "I spent half my holiday getting ambushed by you, and now I know it was magic."
"You should have seen Regulus," Sirius said suddenly, surprising even himself by speaking. "He was out in the snow all morning on Christmas, trying to make the perfect snowman. He kept hexing the lumps to smooth them out, but they’d melt, and he’d start all over."
James blinked at him. "Wait, Regulus? Your brother?"
Remus, tilted his head slightly. "And how was the rest of your holiday?"
Sirius forced a smirk. "Oh, you know. usual Black family stuff."
James groaned. "Bet you spent half of it arguing."
Sirius scoffed. "Try all of it, when they were home at least, they just left us. I'm not complaining thought."
James snorted. "Your good at arguing with people, it would be funny to see." If James knew what it was like, Sirius didn't have the courage to say half as mutch as he wants to. The movement sent a bolt of pain up his arm. He tensed, clenching his jaw as he shifted in his seat, trying to ignore the burning sensation beneath his robes.
Remus caught the flicker of pain in Sirius’s expression. He didn’t say anything, not yet, but his brow furrowed slightly.
Peter, oblivious, jumped in. "My mum made so much food, I think I gained a whole stone over the break."
James reached over and poked Peter’s stomach. "Yeah, I thought you looked rounder."
"Oi!" Peter swatted him away, laughing. Sirius felt almost normal. He wanted to feel normal. He wanted to just sit here, with them, and forget everything else.
But the pain in his arm refused to be ignored. Like a constant reminder.
That was when he realized Remus was watching him. Not in a casual way, really watching him. Sirius swallowed, shifting his arm slightly, but even that small movement made him want to hiss in pain.
"Sirius?" Remus’s voice was quieter than before, barely above a murmur.
Sirius snapped his head up. "What?"
"You alright?"
James and Peter were still bickering, too distracted to notice the sudden change in tone. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Remus didn’t answer right away. His eyes flicked to Sirius’s arm, still hidden beneath his robes. "You just seem… off."
Sirius held his gaze for a second too long before looking away. "I’m fine, Remus." Remus let it go hesitantly.
The compartment door slid open with a soft thud, cutting through James and Peter’s ongoing debate. Sirius barely had time to react before he saw them, Pandora and Evan, standing in the doorway.
Pandora looked worried. Evan just looked vaguely unimpressed, like he’d rather be anywhere else but here. "We need to talk," Pandora said, her gaze flickering to Sirius.
Sirius stiffened. He knew what this was about before she even said it. His stomach clenched.
James raised an eyebrow. "Oi, what’s this? We’re in the middle of—"
"Be quiet," Evan interrupted, his tone dry, but his eyes sharp as they settled on Sirius. Sirius hesitated. He could feel Remus’s eyes on him again, but he forced a smirk. "Relax, probably just want to lecture me about my terrible life choices." He stood up, biting back a wince as the movement jostled his arm. Evan gave him a pointed look. "You do have terrible life choices, to be fair."
"Thanks, Rosier," Sirius muttered, stepping past James and Peter, who were both watching with vague confusion.
Pandora led the way out into the corridor, and as soon as the compartment door shut behind them, her expression turned serious. "I had a vision."
Sirius exhaled sharply, rubbing the back of his neck. "Of course you did."
"It was about you," she continued. "Something bad happened over the holidays, didn't it?"
Sirius scoffed. "Come on, Panda, something bad always happens in my house."
Evan crossed his arms. "Be serious, Black—"
"I'm allways Sirius,"
Evan rolled his eyes. "Tell us."
Sirius hesitated, his fingers twitching at his sides. He didn’t want to talk about it. He wanted to bury it, pretend it never happened, move on. But Pandora and Evan weren’t stupid. And worse, they actually cared.
Sighing, he jerked his head toward an empty compartment. "Fine. In here."
The three of them stepped inside, closing the door behind them. Sirius sat down heavily on the worn seat, bracing himself. Pandora sat beside him, while Evan leaned against the opposite wall, watching with a mix of impatience and curiosity.
Wordlessly, Sirius reached for his sleeve. He hesitated, just for a second, before rolling it up.
Pandora sucked in a sharp breath. Evan, for once, didn’t have a witty remark. His usual dry expression faltered, replaced by something unreadable.
The burns stretched up Sirius’s arm, angry and raw, the skin blistered and peeling in places. The pain had dulled slightly over the last few hours, but it was still there, throbbing with every movement.
Pandora reached out carefully, her fingers hovering just above the wound. "Merlin, Sirius…"
Evan blinked. "Well. That’s, uh, worse than I was expecting."
Pandora swallowed hard. "How did this happen?"
Sirius let his sleeve fall slightly, suddenly feeling exposed. "Same as always, not a proper Black, you know." His voice was light, but his hands were shaking. He clenched them into fists. "Thought a bit of fire might… I don't know."
Pandora closed her eyes for a second, like she was trying to keep herself together. "Sirius…"
Evan, still watching closely, tilted his head. "And you just… let them?"
Sirius let out a sharp laugh. "Oh, yeah, Evan, I volunteered."
"Didn’t fight back?"
"What do you think?" Sirius snapped, then immediately exhaled. "Sorry. I just, no. Not much point, if I do it just gets worse."
Pandora shook her head, already pulling out her wand. "I can help. A bit, at least."
Sirius nodded, letting his sleeve drop fully to expose the burns again. Pandora muttered a soft incantation under her breath, her wand glowing as she traced careful movements over the worst of the blisters. Cooling relief spread across his arm, but it was still raw, the pain still pulsing beneath his skin.
He hissed, shoulders tensing. "Bloody hell—"
"Sorry," Pandora murmured, her face pinched with guilt. "It’ll take time to heal properly."
"Yeah, well. Not the worst thing they’ve done," Sirius muttered.
Pandora pulled back slightly, watching him with concern. "Sirius… was it worse this time?"
He hesitated. "I dunno. Maybe."
Evan narrowed his eyes. "Your dad. Was he drinking more?"
Sirius frowned. "Why do you—?"
"I noticed at the Christmas party," Pandora said softly. "He smelled like alcohol. And… something else. Like he wasn’t just drunk."
Sirius exhaled, tilting his head back against the seat. "Yeah. It’s getting worse. But I barely saw them, to be honest. They left me with Reg and the others most of the time. Guess they had better things to do than spend Christmas with us."
There was a long silence.
Evan finally broke it. "Huh."
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"
"Nothing. Just… didn’t realize they were that... I thought they were just mildly abusive, you know." He was silent for a while and then started again. "To be fair, the child abuse standard is pretty high in most pureblood families."
Sirius huffed a laugh, even though it wasn’t really funny. "Yeah, well. The Black family likes to exceed expectations."
Pandora shot Evan a glare. "Not helpful."
Evan shrugged. "I am helpful. I asked questions. I’m learning."
"What exactly are you learning?" Sirius asked, amused despite himself.
Evan leaned back, smirking. "That your life is even more of a mess than I thought."
Pandora sighed, pressing a final cooling charm against the worst of the burns before pulling back. "There. It’s not perfect, but it should help a bit." Sirius flexed his fingers carefully, the pain still there but a little less sharp. "Thanks, Panda."
She gave him a small smile, but her eyes were sad. "You can’t keep going back there, Sirius."
"Where else would I go?"
Pandora and Evan exchanged a look, but neither had an answer.
Sirius sighed, rolling his sleeve back down. "Doesn't matter. I'm fine."
Evan arched an eyebrow. "Are you?"
Sirius grinned. "No"
Evan just shook his head. Pandora looked like she wanted to argue, but instead, she just squeezed his hand briefly before standing.
"Come on," she said. "Before your friends get suspicious."
Sirius rolled his eyes, pushing himself up. "James lives in a state of suspicion."